ASSUME nothing for effective PR

ASSUME anything and you make an ASS of you and me. Those words have resounded in my ears ever since I heard them as a trainee reporter 35 years ago.
As a journalist I learnt that the most important part of the good news story was to get as much detail as possible up front and clarify everything. We used then and still use today my six best friends. Who, What, Why, Where, When and How. If you make sure you have answered those questions then you have the makings of a good story.
Similarly, when writing your news story or press release, make sure you spell out clearly what you are talking about.
I recently posted a Facebook item about the Trussel Trust. I wrongly assumed that because I knew the Trussel Trust provided food parcels for families in crisis that everyone else would. I was wrong to assume that and should have included a simple sentence about it.
It’s a good reminder for when anyone is writing a press release about their organisation.
The key things to remember are to provide as much information as possible so that the reader, news editor has a comprehensive picture and also to write it in a very simple clear way so that they feel engaged.
When I started out my journalistic career the Sun was always held up as an example of how you write. Its editorial is written in a very clear, simple way using as few words as possible. It isn’t alone, the Financial Times style guide also extols the virtues of providing a brief explanation for everything, simply.
If you want to get your message across in an effective way then keep those two rules in mind and you won’t go far wrong.
IF you wold like help crafting your message in a clear simple way to generate some effective Public Relations then please get in touch: info@carmelharrisonpr.com, tel: 07714708271